IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Cowper Walk, MANCHESTER, M11 3UJ

Heading west.

Grey Mare Lane

The City of Manchester stadium alongside Ashton New Road (viewed from the top deck of a bus). Originally built for the Commonwealth Games it became the home ground of Manchester City and has recently been renamed as the Ethiad Stadium.

At Sportcity which is home to the City of Manchester Stadium, Regional Athletics Arena, National Squash Centre, English Institute of Sport Tennis Centre and the National Cycling Centre.

One of the cranes seen in Image

This building is the sole survivor of a terrace that fronted Ashton New Road. It is shown on the 1893 OS 1/2500 map.

The expansion of the Etihad Stadium is the latest stage of Sheikh Mansour‘s relentless quest to dominate world club football. The Manchester City owner has invested many millions in the clubs facilities and even more in the team it only seems a matter of time until his dream is a reality.

This huge pub used to be a Labour Party club, but for at least 16 years it has been a pub. It can accommodate around 1,200 people and has two machines which are each capable of pouring six pints in 20 seconds. So there is no doubt that some serious drinking goes on here. The busiest days are when Manchester City Football Club is playing at home. It is one of the many pubs around here popular with City fans. At other times it can be quiet, and in 2009 the owner announced he was considering applying for planning permission to demolish the building and replace it with a new hotel and bar complex. The pub is on the corner of Grey Mare Lane and Howarth Close. It extends a long way back along the latter. The owner's mother-in-law owns a Mary D's bar in Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria, which is popular with holidaying City fans. At the moment this area is very far from being a tourist destination for visitors to Manchester. The litter on the pavement, the extra protection on the pub's downstairs windows, and the CCT camera on the corner of the building, encased in a metal grill, tell their own story.

Looking along the new pedestrian walkway/bridge over the Ashton New Road/Alan Turing Way crossroads, towards the Etihad Stadium. The Etihad Stadium was originally built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games and named "City of Manchester Stadium". After the Games, The stadium was leased to Manchester City FC as a replacement for their old ground at Maine Road. In 2010, the club announced that the stadium would be renamed "The Etihad Stadium" as part of a sponsorship deal. It is currently the fifth-largest stadium in the Premier League and the twelfth-largest in the UK, with a seating capacity of 47805. Work began in March 2014 to add approximately 6000 seats to the South Stand; a project due to be completed in time for the start of the 2015/16 Barclays Premier League season. The cranes on the left are working on the South Stand extension. Planning permission has also been granted for a third phase which could see a further 6000 seats and a total capacity of approx. 61000, making the Etihad the second largest stadium in the Premier League, second only to local rivals United whose Old Trafford ground holds in excess of 76000 spectators (http://www.mcfc.co.uk/news/club-news/2014/june/manchester-city-announce-second-phase-of-etihad-expansion Manchester City FC).